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2013-06-18 14:03:55 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Just putting this out there for anyone in Arizona or close enough that uses BugGuide regularly.

http://arizonabeetlesbugsbirdsandmore.blogspot.com/2013/06/bugguide-gathering-2013-in-arizona.html
http://www.ent.iastate.edu/2013gathering/

2013-06-18 13:15:53 (23 comments, 0 reshares, 47 +1s)

Blue Dasher
Week 5

No shortage of these common dragons. One of these days I need to find some new place for some different species.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#WeeklyOde
#MacroMonday  for +Kelli Seeger Kim, +Kerry Murphy, +Jennifer Eden, +Jake Easley
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin

2013-06-14 15:44:09 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 27 +1s)

Bee Fly

I haven't had the chance to go out lately so here's another angle of the bee fly that I posted previously. It really is this orange. I ID'd it down to Exoprosopa, but couldn't get any farther than that.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#BuggyFriday  for +Ray Bilcliff, +Dorothy Pugh, +Victoria Etna
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers

2013-06-13 19:35:33 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Just giving some options for my mpe-65 friends. Check out the simple diffuser he used in the comments that follow the pic. Makes a lot of sense since you're up close to the insect anyway.

+Shane Williams, +Derek small, +Deb Yarrow

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnhallmen/8735158560/

2013-06-13 13:18:41 (15 comments, 3 reshares, 47 +1s)

Bee

I'm not quite sure, but I think it's some kind of sweat bee. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#BeeThursday  for +Dorothy Pugh
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin

2013-06-12 19:57:02 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

Red Saddlebags

Posting this for no other reason than it let me get close enough. It was up at the top of the reeds and I wouldn't have been able to get this shot if I wasn't able to use live view. My arm was pretty much stretched out as far as I could.

I think I need to start bringing my other rig so I can get some full body shots. No matter how hard or patient I am, some of them just don't want you in their personal space.

Papago Park
Phoenix, AZ

2013-06-12 14:39:25 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 28 +1s)

Katydid

Walking by a dead shrub and see this little fella hanging out on it like it owns it.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin

2013-06-11 15:13:49 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 30 +1s)

Black Setwing
Week 4

Throwing this in early this week since I worked on it last night. It might just be the area, but it was just too easy to get up close yesterday =) And it's also a new species for me. Yay! It looks black in person, but under flash the body is a dark blue and the eyes a deep purple. The "nose" area by the simple eyes is also iridescent.

I worked on it last night because I wanted to test out the new RawTherapee version. The older ones kept crashing on me, but this one seems to be a lot more stable so far. Now I need to learn what all the sliders and buttons do.

Papago Park
Phoenix, AZ

#WeeklyOde
#OdonataPoker  for +viviane godenne
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin

2013-06-10 13:48:28 (6 comments, 5 reshares, 44 +1s)

Sweat Bee

Another angle of this sweat bee.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#MacroMonday  for +Kelli Seeger Kim, +Kerry Murphy, +Jennifer Eden, +Jake Easley
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers

2013-06-07 18:57:35 (9 comments, 5 reshares, 52 +1s)

Four-spotted Aphid Fly

Had some time to kill the other day after work. I stayed in one small area of this park for around an hour and just observed what came around - hoverflies, damselflies, dragonflies, and some wasps =)

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#SexyFly  for +Shane Williams

2013-06-07 15:15:52 (20 comments, 1 reshares, 49 +1s)

Blue Dasher
Week 3

Portrait sessions are starting to get harder now that the sun comes up super early and I can't get out before their active. Still, there's the odd one that doesn't care how close you get no matter the time of day.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#WeeklyOde
#OdonataPoker  for +viviane godenne
#BuggyFriday  for +Ray Bilcliff, +Sherry McBriar, +Dorothy Pugh, +Victoria Etna

2013-06-06 13:17:27 (12 comments, 4 reshares, 38 +1s)

Metallic Green Sweat Bee

Found this beauty while I was slowly making my way out of the park. I can count the number of times I've ever seen one on one hand so I was happy that it let me have just about all the time in the world to take some shots.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin
#BeeThursday  for +Dorothy Pugh
#BugsEveryday  for +Chris Mallory

2013-06-05 13:17:30 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 31 +1s)

Beetle

At least I think it's some kind of beetle. The days are starting to get really hot really fast now =/  My mornings to go out and shoot insects might have to be pushed to as early as 4am now if I want to attempt any focus stacking or finding skittish insects.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#macro4all  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#BugsEveryday  for +Chris Mallory

2013-06-04 14:36:32 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 31 +1s)

Assassin Bug
Emesaya sp. Thanks +Chris Mallory for the ID.

Photographed my first stick insect yesterday =)

And now a story of what happened before this. So since the grandparents wanted to watch the kids yesterday, I decided I would go check out Papago Park after work. I park my truck and my wife calls me so I'm talking to her and setting up my camera at the same time.

While on the call, I notice some stranger park next to me. I look over every once in a while and he's just staring at me. After the phone call, I look over again and he kind of motions that he wants me to roll down my window so he can talk to me. So I talk with him for a minute to see what he wants and at least three times he kept insisting that he come and sit with me inside my truck to talk... so creeeeeeeeeeepy. I told him I was leaving and went to park in a different more populated... more »

2013-06-03 13:22:09 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 40 +1s)

Bee Fly

Looking for odes over the weekend when I came upon this really colorful fly. It stuck out like a sore thumb. I believe it is some sort of bee fly based on how its wings were at rest (triangular) and the way it flew/hovered. The setup I was using at the time wouldn't allow me to get any further for a full wingtip-to-wingtip shot =/  Oh well, I guess that means I should start carrying my other rig as well (P&S with a filter adapter). Good thing it's a lot lighter than what I'm using now.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#MacroMonday  for +Kelli Seeger Kim, +Kerry Murphy, +Jennifer Eden, +Jake Easley
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers

2013-06-02 04:54:51 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 22 +1s)

Sittin' On Top Of the World

More fun with panoramas on top of Pikes Peak. This one wasn't planned. They just happened to be sitting where they were and I didn't want to move (or climb actually) far enough to get them both in one shot. It probably wouldn't look as epic if I was farther back anyway.

5-frame stitch

2013-05-31 19:15:48 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 23 +1s)

Getting pretty good at knowing when to trip the shutter. She was taking a break from running around and munching on some snacks.

#WeAreParents  curated by +Juan Gonzalez

2013-06-02 04:45:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 20 +1s)

Hairpins

One of the many hairpin turns on the way to the summit on Pikes Peak. Actually this was taken on our way down. I don't know when it happened, but the road is paved all the way to the top now.

This reminds me that I need to start watching Initial D 5th Stage.

30-frame stitch, but more likely 26-frames with the crop.

2013-05-31 13:25:03 (12 comments, 4 reshares, 36 +1s)

Familiar Bluet
Week 2

Seeing damsels everywhere now =) Next time I think I'll try to get some neck detail on this one.

Veteran's Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#WeeklyOde
#BuggyFriday  for +Ray Bilcliff, +Sherry McBriar, +Victoria Etna, +Dorothy Pugh

2013-05-31 04:34:54 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 17 +1s)

My brother +Dwight Elefante posing at the top of Pikes Peak. I wasn't planning on doing any Brenizer Method shots so I didn't bring any longer lenses =/

35mm / f1.8 / 8-frames

2013-05-31 04:32:23 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

My friend looking out to the city from the top of Pikes Peak. The summit is just above her. We did some hiking up there, but we didn't go too far since the trails were covered in snow so we made some new "trails". It was probably not the best idea since we were sinking knee deep into the snow in some places.

I haven't done any "Brenizer Method" type shots in a while so I played with it some while we were up there. Pushing the shutter speed limit of my camera to get this shot because I don't have an ND filter.

35mm / f1.8 / 14-frames

2013-05-29 18:51:12 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

Back from my visit with the family. We drove to the top of Pikes Peak so we could do a little hiking while we were up there. Here's a panorama from up by the summit.

8-frame stitch

2013-05-24 17:13:57 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 30 +1s)

Show me dinosaur

Rawwwwrrrr!

#WeAreParents  curated by +Juan Gonzalez

2013-05-24 13:32:17 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 51 +1s)

Mexican Amberwing
Week 1

I guess now is just as good as any to start my #WeeklyOde  project. Would love to do an ode a day, but every day seemed a bit much for me since I don't go out often enough to build up photos.

It's starting to get easy to find the dragons in the mornings now... at least for the amberwings and blue dashers. Have to look a little harder for the other regulars, but it's still early in the season.

Veteran's Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#BuggyFriday  for +Ray Bilcliff, +Victoria Etna, +Sherry McBriar, +Dorothy Pugh
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin

2013-05-23 13:40:03 (9 comments, 2 reshares, 48 +1s)

Ant

Tiny ants as they go back and forth from the nest. Probably took a dozen or so shots just to get one that was isolated and a majority of it in focus.

Veteran's Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#macro4all  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers

2013-05-22 13:43:42 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 37 +1s)

Grasshopper

Seeing more and more variety of insects every weekend I go here. Lots of them willing to pose for me.

Veteran's Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#BugsEveryday  for +Chris Mallory

2013-05-21 13:44:56 (8 comments, 4 reshares, 47 +1s)

Leaf-footed Bug

No shortage of true bugs this past weekend. I found a tree full of these.

Veteran's Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#BugsEveryday  for +Chris Mallory

2013-05-20 13:32:06 (31 comments, 6 reshares, 66 +1s)

Mayfly

First time I've ever seen one of these in person. Mother nature was not co-operating with me this day as it was windy this particular morning. I did manage to get this shot, but I so wanted to try some 3x on those eyes.

The face looks like some skeleton with a helmet at this angle lol.

Veteran's Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#MacroMonday  for +Kerry Murphy, +Kelli Seeger Kim, +Jennifer Eden, +Jake Easley
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers

2013-05-17 13:53:07 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

It's About Thyme Chicken

Balsamic-thyme marinated chicken breast with sautéed mushrooms, melted provolone, lettuce, tomato & basil mayo

Flancer's
Mesa, AZ

#FoodFriday  for +Natty Netsuwan, +D. DeMonteverde, +Jenn Oliver, +Moon Lee

2013-05-17 13:46:55 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Carefree Innocence

I was sitting on the floor and her twin sister and their cousins decided to chase each other while running around me in circles.

#WeAreParents  curated by +Juan Gonzalez

2013-05-17 14:07:11 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 22 +1s)

Damselfly

Lot's of damsels lately for me. I could almost start an ode a day project lol.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#BuggyFriday  for +Ray Bilcliff, +Dorothy Pugh, +Victoria Etna

2013-05-16 16:28:34 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

Wasp

While I was waiting for the ant in my previous post to not be so active while under a container, I noticed this wasp. I observed it for a while and found that it was digging holes near the base of a nearby bush. I watched it for at least 10+ mins as it dug out dirt. I couldn't get any sharp photos of it in the entire frame, but I did get plenty of action shots like this one flicking dirt as it makes a hole. It would also pick up bigger pieces and carry it out.

#BugsEveryday  for +Chris Mallory

2013-05-16 16:16:45 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Ant

Stopping long enough to say hello.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin

2013-05-15 21:41:02 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Got the new UI. So far I'm liking what I'm seeing.

2013-05-15 13:32:52 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 24 +1s)

Damselfly

A Nutella-ish colored damsel for +Alan Shapiro on his birthday.

#AlanShapiroBirthdayStyle

2013-05-14 14:29:48 (16 comments, 2 reshares, 28 +1s)

Rambur's Forktail

It was resting on a tree so I tried to get underneath it some to try and get the mouth parts.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#odonatapoker  for +viviane godenne

2013-05-14 00:11:04 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

Since the "freeze motion" album has been revealed for +Chrysta Rae's Photography Scavenger Hunt I thought I'd share my shot and some BTS stuff.

It's a composite of two photos. The base image is the cereal bowl and the spoon. The other is the strawberry and splash. The last photo is a pullback shot of the setup.

The room was dark for the photos so that the flash was the only thing that would freeze the motion. Exposure time on the camera was 3 sec (enough time for me to drop the strawberry and trigger the flash). Flash was controlled by a wireless trigger not connected to the camera since I would be setting off the flash manually.

Sequence of events went as followed:
1. Trip the camera shutter
2. Drop the strawberry
3. Trigger the flash when it hit the spoon
4. Add more milk to the spoon and repeat

If anyone has any... more »

2013-05-13 13:42:21 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 24 +1s)

Lacewing Larvae

Not quite as plump as the last one I posted.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#MacroMonday  for +Kelli Seeger Kim, +Kerry Murphy, +Jennifer Eden, +Jake Easley

2013-05-13 05:29:06 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)

Here's my "texture" entry for +Chrysta Rae's Photography Scavenger Hunt. 20-frame focus stack of a strawberry. Pretty hairy things when you get up close. I actually had enough to have the leaves in perfect focus as well, but it seemed that my camera was slowly sagging so I left those frames out so I didn't have to crop anything.

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers

2013-05-12 15:53:54 (14 comments, 2 reshares, 31 +1s)

Spider

Found it crawling up my bedroom door. I caught it and put it in a container that I forgot about for two days. I come back and find this. A couple pics before letting it go in the backyard.

Special Mothers Day edition of #SpiderSunday  for +Kimberly Hosey & +Mandy Allen

2013-05-10 13:41:36 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 32 +1s)

Lacewing Larvae

A rather big one. Seems it has no problem finding food.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

#BuggyFriday  for +Ray Bilcliff, +Sherry McBriar, +Dorothy Pugh, +Victoria Etna
#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Chris Levers, +Bill Urwin
#YellowforMylah  

2013-05-09 14:05:12 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 38 +1s)

One of the boys

Found an andromorph female I did. I couldn't get around these reeds for any other angle so I went for straight from up top. The space on the left can be used for some inspirational quote lol.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#OdonataPoker  for +viviane godenne

2013-05-08 15:27:40 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 37 +1s)

Globe Mallow Bee
Diadasia diminuta

Seems the only time I can get them are when they're done for the day and ready to roost inside a flower. When they're active, they're way too fast for me.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers

2013-05-07 13:42:54 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 24 +1s)

Damselflies Mating

There were several mating damsels in this area, but it still took a good 10 minutes or so for a pair to let me get close enough for this kind of shot. I had the front eye in focus, but not the part between it and the simple eyes so I decided to leave this as a single shot and not focus stack it.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#OdonataPoker  for +viviane godenne

2013-05-06 13:46:47 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 28 +1s)

Kiowa Dancer

It was fun and new seeing how extreme I could get with the DSLR rig which was around 3:1, but I had to step it back a bit. My keeper rate at 3:1 was very low, mainly because I need to find a way to better stabilize the camera. I took off the extra extension tubes and used just the helicoid for this pic. Not sure of the exact magnification, but it's around 1:1.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#MacroMonday  for +Kerry Murphy, +Kelli Seeger Kim, +Jennifer Eden, +Jake Easley
#macro4all  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#OdonataPoker  for +viviane godenne

2013-05-06 03:43:11 (13 comments, 2 reshares, 39 +1s)

Rambur's Forktail

More and more are coming out to play =)
2-frame focus stack.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#Macro4all  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#OdonataPoker  for +viviane godenne

2013-05-05 06:20:26 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 28 +1s)

Wasp

New things for me every time I've been going out =) First time I've seen a wasp with this coloration.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve
Gilbert, AZ

#Macro4All  for +Walter Soestbergen, +Mark O'Callaghan, +Bill Urwin, +Chris Levers
#BugsEveryday  for +Chris Mallory

2013-05-03 14:46:17 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

It took a team of engineers 12 years to get this fly-sized drone off the ground. Watch it in action: http://on.mash.to/YhOKiB

2013-05-03 13:23:58 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Turkey Burger

The turkey was good, but it was just a tad bit dry.

Fuddruckers
Mesa, AZ

#FoodFriday  for +Jenn Oliver, +Moon Lee, +D. DeMonteverde, +Natty Netsuwan

2013-05-03 13:19:13 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 33 +1s)

Bee Fly

Last shot I have of this one. Makes me think of Gonzo.

Veterans Oasis Park
Chandler, AZ

Nikon D7000 w/Tamron 48.5mm enlarger lens

#BuggyFriday  for +Ray Bilcliff, +Sherry McBriar, +Dorothy Pugh, and +Victoria Etna
#SexyFly  for +Shane Williams
#YellowforMylah